NEWS AND POSSIBLE FUTURE ACTIVITIES

Sportsability Sessions 

Adult Sportsability Sessions @ Spectrum Leisure Complex, Willington, DL15 0JA
Day--            Tuesday (starting 1st November 2011)
Time--          3:30-4:30pm
Cost--          £2:00
General Sports, Football, Basketball activity changing regularly. Just come along.

For further details contact Marie Urwin 07834569436 or e-mail marie.urwin@durham.gov.uk (Durham County Leisure activity)

Junior Sportsability Sessions @ Parkside Sports College, Willington, DL15 0QF
Day--            Tuesday (starting 1st November 2011)
Time--          5:00-6:30pm
Cost--          £2:30
Multi Sports activity. Just come along

For further details contact Wayne Brown 07766133491 or e-mail wayne.brown@durham.gov.uk (Durham County Leisure activity)

We welcome volunteers to come along and assist.

Volunteers qualify as Walk Leaders

As a result of the popularity of the many organised walks, 2 members of LEAPS have trained as volunteer walk leaders

Simon Newton and Neil Stoker have completed volunteer walk leader training as part of the national 'Walking for Health' programme. The course covered : the benefits of physical activity, motivating people to walk, health and safety considerations and how to lead a walk

The photograph shows Simon and Neil giving information and instructions in their role as walk leaders at the start of their first walk at Derwent Reservoir

 

Visit to Calvert Trust, Kielder

A number of disabled people visited the Clavert Trust at Keilder in a trip organised by LEAPS, and participated in a range of activities and sports. The following descriptions have been written by two LEAP members who visited Keilder.

'We travelled to Kielder on the afternoon of Friday 17th September, but it was quite a long journey, because by the time we got to Crook, we had to turn back to Coundon, to get some extra seats fitted,… but still it did make the journey much more interesting.
On the evening of Friday we had a short Quiz and then I had a few games of Pool.
On Saturday 18th September I did some Archery and on the afternoon we went Canoeing on the Lake.
Otherwise not much done, apart from having another Quiz and playing a few more games of Pool.
On Sunday 19th September I went Climbing and did the Zip-wire. On the afternoon we went to the Bird of Prey show, where I held a Bird on a glove.
This evening we had another Quiz and then I had a few more games of Pool.
On Monday 20th September I packed my bags and had a few more games of Pool, before the bus came to take us home,… and we fortunately had the right number of seats this time.
My favourite activity was the Climbing.
Second favourite was the Canoeing.
Third favourite was the Archery.
Fourth favourite was the Bird of Prey Centre.
Not including the games of Pool.
I enjoyed the holiday, but it could have been better if I was allowed to Swim the Lake.'

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'LEAPS, a disabled club based in County Durham received funding from Sherburn House to help towards a weekend to the “Calvert Trust” activity centre for the disabled. A bursary from Calvert was also received which enabled the group to take part in accessible activity’s.

Thanks to the funders for helping towards the cost of the weekend this enabled 13 members to have a chance of Canoeing, Abseiling down a zip wire, Climbing and Archery amongst other activities.

Saturday morning
The whole group took part in archery, they used a special stand for those who could not hold the bow.
We had a fun competition with balloons!

Saturday afternoon
Some went off to do canoeing, 6 people went in a canoe were two canoes were fixed together with two planks of wood to help stabilize it, 3 people sat in each canoe and we all rowed around part of the reservoir.

Sunday morning
4 people went on a golf buggy tour around kielder reservoir while the others did some climbing & abseiling down a zip wire.

Sunday Afternoon
The whole group went on a visit to Leaplish Wildlife Bird of Prey Sanctuary to see a demonstration of the birds in flight, whilst also having the birds land on our hands to get a more up close view.
Normal entry fee is £6
It is Not Recommended for wheelchair users; as one of our members is in an electric wheelchair, which cut out on the bank & had to be pushed the rest of the way, as it’s positioned at the top of a very steep hill.
Everyone enjoyed themselves as it as an experience for everyone being close to a bird of prey for the first time.

We would like to thank “Sherburn House” and “Calvert Trust” for the opportunity to be able to enjoy the activities that are not accessible in County Durham for our disabled membership.'

LEAPS Rating = 4 

 

Award nomination

Durham Council's Sports development officer, Nigel Douthwaite, nominated LEAPS for the "Disabled Sports club of the year" for the "English Federation of Disability Sports (EFDS) awards", sponsored by NPower and Typhoo, on the afternoon of the 17th of March 2010.

The event took place at the Riverside Cricket ground near Chester-le-Street, Durham, and was hosted by Ian Payne from Tyne Tees Television. There were several categories for disabled persons and clubs, for the category we were nominated for, we placed in the short listed nominees of 17 clubs, but alas no award this time, maybe next year!